Vintage shopping in Koenji

We talked in previous entries about fashion in Tokyo, visiting areas such as Shimo-kitazawa, Shibuya or Takeshita Dori, among others. All them are quite fashionable and trendy places to get clothes but, what about if we are looking for something a bit more old school? Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, there are second-hand and vintage clothing shops all around Tokyo, in every single neighborhood. It’s not hard to find them. But what about if I tell about that there is a place packed with this kind of shops? A place with more than 70 stores full of style “imported directly from the 60’s, the 70’s, the 80’s and even the 90’s. Yeah, that’s Koenji.

Sometimes what you’ll get is used clothes that have been stored for many years. Other times you’ll just get brand new stuff which design is inspired by the past. And also, in some occasions, you may find just alternative stores with leather jackets, leopard shirts and other rocker & punker stuff. About prices, there is a little bit of everything. From bloody cheap deals of used wear to expensive brands such as Burberry.

In any case, Koenji it’s worth to visit, not only for its many fashion shops but also for its small & cozy coffeehouses and for the calm and tranquility that one can get from there. To reach the place you just need to catch the Chuo Main Line (from Shinjuku st. for example), and stop at Koenji Station.

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ABOUT

The creation of Tokyo Incognito was born because as young people who just arrived in Tokyo we felt the need to move away from the common places and help others know about places that are not so well known and that yet are worth knowing. Our aim is to make you discover or re-discover again the beautiful city of Tokyo!

Our team is composed of many different young people coming to Japan for short or long term. Our visions are therefore very different depending on who writes the articles. Each of our passions can be shown in what we write.

All that under the direction of Yosuke, who was a reporter in NHK for 7 years, specialized in homicides and politics. Now he's working for himself keeping as a main goal to help the integration of foreigners in Japan.